


Those Poor Houseplants

by Issers



Series: Angels, Devils, Demons and Houseplants [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst, Demons, Friendship, Hell, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-06-08 17:42:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19475521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Issers/pseuds/Issers
Summary: When Lucifer, Chloe and Trixie decide to let loose on a vacation in London they find a couple of unusual friends,At the same time in Hell, Hastur is working on his evil plan to avenge Ligur.





	1. Chapter 1

"Mommy, I want to go to London". 

The high-pitched voice of the nine-year-old sounded through the house as she shut the door behind her. The sentence came as an answer to a question asked earlier that week, which was something along the lines of "Where would you like to go on vacation this year?"

Trixie added, "Tommy said they have nice parks and there's a castle and the people are cool and talk in a weird accent."

To the kid's surprise, Chloe gave in easily, having always wanted to go to the UK herself, and even suggested having Lucifer tag along. Trixie was naturally beyond herself with excitement.

Neither planning the trip or getting Lucifer to come with turned out to be too difficult as they had everything booked within a week. Lucifer even insisted on paying for a fancy hotel in the city centre, which Chloe reluctantly agreed too after realizing there was no way in hell she'd change his mind.

So three months later they found themselves in St. James' Park, lounging on a park bench, enjoying the London sun. It was a bright and warm summer day. They sat across from the pond. Next to Chloe Lucifer was complaining about his suit being messed up and Trixie was trying to unsuspiciously feed her sandwich to the ducks. 

She loved spending time with her family. It had occurred to her that she'd started to consider Lucifer family as well but quickly realized that he had been exactly that for ages now. Whenever she was out at night or stuck at work Lucifer would watch Trixie, and even though he still pretended to dislike her it was evident that it was all an act, and that they were secretly way closer than Lucifer would let shine through. At times Chloe wished she and Lucifer could be more than just friends. But then she'd quickly accept that probably just wasn't like Lucifer. That he just wasn't a relationship type of guy. Still, as she was sitting on a park bench, enjoying the sights London had to offer with Lucifer next to her she couldn't help wanting to be together with him. The devil in question had finally settled down, somehow seeming comfortable on the rather uncomfortable bench. 

"Lucifer?" Chloe asked uncomfortably.

"Yes, Detective?" He answered.

She had no idea how to approach this, but she figured that this might be the best chance she would get as it seemed like he had finally let his guard down. "Do you.. do you ever wish we could be more than just friends?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth she felt anxious, she didn't want to screw up the chemistry they'd built up and she quickly added, "Not that I don't love the way things are now but have you never... I don't know, thought that maybe we could be more?" His eyes seemed to spark. Mentally he screamed "Only every day since I met you" but he decided to answer a bit more nuanced "Yes... I do. But I always figured that you didn't feel the same way". Chloe had never seen him this insecure, it felt somewhat odd. After she found out his true identity she understood his characteristics more and more, and slowly she'd accepted that his confidence was unfaltering. Exactly that was the reason why this moment was so oddly tender. "I always thought you weren't interested in me that way, with all your one night stands and all" she admitted. 

Lucifers replying glance was confused, to say the least, "I always thought I made it abundantly clear that you're the one I really care for."

A smile spread over Chloe's face as he pulled Lucifer closer to kiss him. When their lips met she realized she'd managed to surprise him, as a flustered sound came from his mouth. And just like that the supposedly 'inherently evil' devil realized that he was hopelessly, head over heels in love with the woman sitting next to him. 

Somehow Lucifer wasn’t the only immortal in love in that exact park. Not even 200 yards away Crowley and Aziraphale sat on an identical park bench. “Y’know,” Crowley admitted “Regardless of all of the drama we’ve been through I’m glad we’ve ended where we are now.” Aziraphale nodded and their hands linked. After the failed armageddon Crowley and Aziraphale had finally admitted their feelings. Accepting that despite their initial differences they both loved each other incredibly much.”I honestly believe that this is the exact outcome that was supposed to happen.” Aziraphale said leaning his head on Crowley’s shoulder. “I might not know about the almighty’s ineffable plan, but I know that there’s no way that we wouldn’t end up together.” 

Crowley made a face of disgust at the sappy anecdote but behind his facade, Aziraphale noticed the loving smirk. With a sigh he stood up to feed the ducks, pulling Crowley along.

but when they arrived at their usual feeding spot Aziraphale noticed that a little girl was already throwing pieces of torn up bread at the birds. He untangled his hand and walked up to her. “Hello. I noticed you were feeding the ducks bread” The girl nods so he adds “Well, bread is actually somewhat poisonous for them.” He hands her a handful of seeds “They’ll enjoy that just as much and it’s way better for them.” The girl smiles. “Thank you!” she excitedly answers. Behind him he heard Crowley gasp before pulling him away and whispering “Aziraphale dear, I think it’s best we go.” Crowley’s concerned sunglass-covered eyes are looking at a bench behind them. A woman, supposedly the girl’s mother and a man are sitting there. Aziraphale confusedly looks at his partner. “What’s going on?” 

Crowley’s terrified response came “That’s bloody Lucifer himself sitting there.” Lucifer’s eyes linked with Crowley’s and it was evident that he recognized him. “Bollocks,” he whispered mostly to himself before hastily pulling Aziraphale away to run. 

They got to the Bentley, and only when they were a safe distance away he managed to breathe again. “Bloody hell- bloody shitting fucking hell. What is he doing here.” Crowley shouted while half-hyperventilating. “Well. Aziraphale, great to have known you. I guess that’s it.” 

Aziraphale sighed “Calm down dear. We’ll figure it out if it’s the last thing we do.” Crowley barely restricted himself from sarcastically answering “It probably is”.


	2. 2

Lucifer frowned, he could have sworn that was Crawly right then. He quickly excused himself to the Detective and promised he’d be back before lunch, earning him a confused glance but after a quick kiss she let go and he half-sprinted towards the exit where he saw the demon leave. Contrary to the belief of the people who were involved Lucifer was actually rather happy Armageddon didn’t work out. It was all a prophecy he’d learned about when he met Agnes Nutter centuries before. She’d told him exactly what would happen and what his role was in the whole happening. What a lovely woman that was. 

He did hate that he wasn’t able to bond with his son. He felt like he failed him by not being there for him, but he couldn’t risk accidentally ending the world by trying to make contact. That was also part of why he came to the UK, he hoped that he could finally have a proper conversation with him after all these years.

He came around the corner just in time to see an old black Bentley speed around the corner. He caught a glimpse of Crawly’s sunglasses and without even giving it a second thought he got in a cab and told the driver to follow the car. They sped through the streets of London cause (un)holy shit, Crawly drove fast. After ten-ish minutes they arrived at their destination, an old bookshop. The Bentley was parked outside. 

Lucifer mentally noted the address, but decided to leave them alone for now. He’d seen the shocked expression on the angel’s face when Crawly whispered something to him. He had debated just walking in for now, but maybe it was better to come back on another occasion. 

As if on cue his phone rang. The screen read ‘The Detective’. “Hello? Lucifer” the voice came through the phone. “Hello Detective!” He cheerfully answered. “Where did you go? I barely had time to process what you were saying and you were already gone” Chloe asked. “I saw an old acquaintance and I realized I hadn’t thanked him for something yet. I haven’t had the chance to talk to him yet. But maybe I should do that another time.” He said the last part to himself.

“All right... Our lunch reservation is in 30 minutes, and since you insisted on going to a fancy spot it’s probably important that we’re there in time, do you want to meet there?” 

“Yeah, that sounds quite alright. I’ll send you the address.” 

**_In Hell_ **

Hastur’s black eyes narrowed as he thought back to how Crowley managed to escape his punishment. He deserved to be killed for what he did. The filthy traitor. He disliked him even before everything happened. It wouldn’t be long ‘till he’d be able to avenge Ligur. There was no way he would be able to fight his way out of this one. He would get him and after that he would make him suffer. That much he could pomoise. He wished Ligur was still here so he could tell him all about his sinister plans. But thanks to Crowley he wasn’t. What he had done was too evil, even for a demon. Killing each other wasn’t too uncommon in hell, but holy water? That was a whole new league. His face contorted into a wicked smile as he thought of what he would do when he got a hold of him. According to his sources on Earth he lived with that blasted angel Aziraphale in some bookshop in London. He had unfortunately gotten discorporated a few weeks before when getting hit by a car, but he supposed finding a new body to possess would only make it more enjoyable to see the surprise on Crowley’s face. Soon… Soon he’d finally finish what the other demons couldn’t end.

**_At the bookshop_ **

“Crowley, for heaven's sake calm down. I believe two of my houseplants have gone into cardiac arrest.” 

“Angel, this is not the time to calm down. Bloody Lucifer himself is coming for me. We need… we need to prepare, you need to run. Maybe he didn’t notice you were there and then at least you’re okay. Or- or we can just go to Alpha Centauri. I doubt he’ll come looking for us there!” He was frantically stuffing his belongings in to a bag as he spoke. Aziraphale pulled him into a hug. He whispered into his hair “Calm down darling. We’ve literally been through the end of the world. This can’t be much worse.” 

Crowley managed to wrestle himself loose “Yes it is! We’re talking Lucifer. Bloody LUCIFER” 

Aziraphale kissed Crowley, if only to shut him up. When he noticed he stopped talking he sighed and said, “Dear, believe me. We’ll be alright. Things will happen as they’re supposed to and the best thing we can do right now is have faith.” Telling a Demon to have faith was generally somewhat counterproductive and with most demons it would likely end with you having a knife in your chest, but Crowley was of course not ‘most demons.’ He nodded but clearly wasn’t completely reassured. “I- I just can’t lose you Angel. I don’t know what I’d do if I’d lose you. You’re my best friend. And I love you so much.” He felt the tears well up in the corner of his eyes but fought them back. “I need you. You’re my ineffable partner and I hope- I hope one day you’ll be my ineffable husband.” Tears were freely streaming down Aziraphale’s face now. He nodded “Yes. I’d like that very much too.” He answered. They both smiled. And at that exact moment neither of them felt like anything mattered but each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a solid chance that updates are going to be about weekly-ish. I'm just a pretty slow writer. Sorry if this isn't great!


	3. 3

The group had been in London for a little over three days now, and Lucifer had decided that he’d pay a visit to Crawly today. Ever since he and the Detective had accepted that they had feelings for another Lucifer had felt unbeatable. He couldn’t remember a day in his infinitely long life that he’d felt as cheery as he had the past week. Everything about her made him feel happy, warm inside. Even the little things, such as holding hands or smiling at each other. He figured nothing could bring him down. 

He had memorized the address of the bookshop and after a quick check on Google Maps he’d seen out that it was only a fifteen minute walk away. Of course he could have taken a cab, but he could use the exercise.    


The streets of London were unruly, people walking everywhere somehow seemingly navigating themselves through the masses of people whilst also focussing on something else. What a hellish place to live for people with ADHD. He thought to himself. 

Eventually he arrived at the bookshop. It was on the corner of a busy street in Soho and looked exactly like what one would expect a store selling antique books to look like. Old books lined the window sills and from outside the store seemed to mostly exist out of wooden bookshelves creating a sort of organized mess.

He glanced inside and saw the back of Crawly’s head. He was sitting in a chair, reading a book. 

As Lucifer pushed the door open a bell rang next to his head, startling Crawly, causing him to turn around. As soon as their eyes met Crawly froze. The angel, Aziraphale, Lucifer remembered, rushed to the front of the store. Only to recognize him, miracle a flaming sword (Hadn’t he lost that thing ages ago in the garden?) and protectively position himself in front of the still frozen Crawly. It was endearing, how much the two seemingly cared for each other. Lucifer was the one to break the silence. “Why Hello Crawly, fancy seeing you here.” he took a step forward, to which Aziraphale threateningly raised his sword a bit more. It didn’t really fit him, the sword. He had soft features and a face that screamed nice librarian rather than flaming-sword-wielding angel. “Oh for dad’s sake, relax. I’m not going to do anything.” 

This seemed to have some impact, as Aziraphale seemed to loosen his grip on the blade a little less, however still prepared to strike. Crawly finally seemed to come back to live a little. “It’s Crowley, lord.” He said. “Crawly was a little.. Snake-ish.”

Lucifer chuckled. “I suppose you’re right there. Then again, you were the Serpent of Eden after all.”

Crowley figured that as long as they’d keep Lucifer occupied they could figure out a way to escape. Well, who was he kidding, he was probably dead anyways. Aziraphale chose that moment to defiantly ask “What exactly are you doing here, shouldn’t you be, I don't know, in hell, torturing people.” 

Crowley flinched when Arizarphale asked the question. Why did his stupid angel have to choose right now of all moments to be brave. To his surprise Lucifer answered calmly “Well, as for why I’m not in hell.. I got bored. All the fire and brimstone tends to bring you down a bit. I guess you could consider it a sort of vacation.” 

Crowley finally found the will to speak again. “If you don’t mind me asking.. What exactly are you doing here, here. In the bookshop.”

“Well, I saw you in the park a few days back, and I followed you here but it seemed like you could really use some time to yourself so I memorized the address. I figured I really did need to thank you for stopping Armageddon. Wonderfully done that.”

“What?” Crowley blurted. “No offense, of course. But wasn’t what we did the complete opposite of what you hoped to achieve?”

Lucifer smirked “Yeah, well. Funny story. No. The initial goal was never to destroy Earth. I’d learned about this prophecy a few centuries ago. This nice witch Agnes Nutter told me all about it. Apparently an antichrist would be born whether I wanted it or not, so I needed to find some sort of loophole to stop it. Turns out, all I needed was the most incompetent demon I’d ever met.” 

Crowley looked both proud and somewhat wounded. 

“I really hoped to meet Adam though. I never wanted to be the type of father who leaves their kid alone.” To Crowley’s surprise he seemed completely sincere. “I know I’ve been a horrible dad, forcing him to fix everything, but I was scared that if I approached him earlier I would change something and it would all go to hell. I couldn’t risk that.”

Crowley had actually only seen Lucifer in person a couple of times, mostly in hell. He’d never actually had a conversation with him and he would be the first to admit that this wasn’t at all what he was expecting. In hell Lucifer’s reputation was that of a powerful and well, terrifying ruler. He was known to be cruel to those who betrayed him and had no issues with feeding a demon or two to his hellhounds if he felt the need. The Lucifer he met here was seemingly the complete opposite. He seemed rather nice to be completely honest.    


“No offense Lord, but is that really the only reason why you’re here?” He didn’t add ‘Because I betrayed you?’ but it went unsaid. Lucifer sighed “Relax Cra- Crowley. As I mentioned, I’ve been living with humans as well, I understand why you would choose their side over hell’s.” He smiled as he continued “But I have to admit, it was rather funny to see how pissed off Hastur was. Kept ranting about Ligur. It drove Beelzebub mad.”

Crowley chuckled, not only at the thought of Hastur but also at the absurdity of the current situation.

“Well, anyways.” Lucifer said. “As enjoyable as it’s been, I should probably go. Why don’t you join me and The Detective for dinner tonight?” 

Crowley didn’t ask who ‘The Detective’ was but nodded, after all, he couldn’t really say no to his master anyways. Aziraphale could, but there was no real reason to. So Lucifer wrote down the address and walked out of the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!   
> I posted this a little earlier than I had anticipated but oh well. I'm planning on having this fic be around 9 or 10 chapters (I have written 7 so far) and posting once or twice a week.


	4. 4

Right after Lucifer had left they drove to Tadfield. They felt like they should at least tell Adam about what had happened. As soon as they pulled into the driveway they heard an excited bark from inside the house, before being welcomed by Dog, who sprinted out as soon as the door opened.

The Youngs had learned to accept the two men who had started to befriend their son, and although they still thought it was somewhat weird, they figured they meant no harm.

Adam was always happy to see Crowley and Aziraphale, and appeared at the door. "Hey guys!" He happily exclaimed, only to be met with a soberingly serious look from both the angel and demon. "What's going on?" He asked, own tone growing serious. Crowley bit his lip "We need to talk, in private." Adam nodded and followed them to an open spot in the woods. 

"Guys, what's going on?" The boy asked when they sat down. 

"Well.." Aziraphale stuttered. "Something… rather interesting happened today."

Adam frowned in confusion

"Well, you see.." the angel continued "Your dad… Your biological dad. He visited us earlier today" 

The kid shot a concerned glance at his friends, quickly checking if they were all right, before asking "What did he want." His tone was cold. "Did he do anything to you?" He added.

Aziraphale hesitated for a moment "Well.. It seems like we might have gotten the wrong impression of him." He waited a second before adding "he really didn't seem all that bad to be honest."

Adam looked stunned. "But.. what about the apocalypse." It now was Crowley's turn to cut in "Apparently he never intended to end the world, another one of Agnes' prophecies I suppose. But that wasn't why we came here. It was something else he said." The kid was clearly confused, after all, what could be weirder than that? "He told us that his biggest regret during the whole thing was that he didn't get to properly bond with you. That he never wanted to "be the type of father that left their kid behind". He said he couldn't risk screwing up the prophecy, but that he really hoped he could have a proper conversation with you some time."

Adam blinked, surprisingly it seemed pretty nice to meet his biological dad. He was obviously still very sceptical. "Do you know for sure that it wasn't just a lie, to, I don't know, try to restart Armageddon or something" Crowley thought about it for a second before answering “I.. I honestly don’t think so. He seemed oddly sincere. Oh, and he invited us over for dinner tonight.” Adam hesitated for a moment but then asked “I could ask my parents if I can tag along?” Aziraphale nodded, “That could be smart. If things go south you’ll have me and Crowley there.”

And like that the angel, demon and Antichrist found themselves in front of the restaurant. Crowley put a hand on Adam’s shoulder before asking “You sure you want to do this?” Adam tried to reassuringly smile, but somewhat failed, so he replied “Yeah, I’m sure.” Crowley pushed the door open, and to their surprise they saw Lucifer sitting at a table with the little girl they saw in the park and her mom. Surely that wasn’t the detective he was talking about?

Turned out it was, as the woman introduced herself as Chloe Decker, and told them she worked for the LAPD. Mentally Crowley tried to think of a single reason why the devil himself would be in London with an LAPD detective, but he let it slide, he figured that he’d probably find it out soon enough. After everyone’s introductions things started to become a bit more clear. 

Apparently Lucifer worked as a civilian consultant, cause sure, why not. And he owned a club in Los Angeles called LUX. Things only seemed to hit a snag when they got to the topic of Adam, who had silently been sitting at the table when the rest introduced each other. That was, until Lucifer noticed him. A lump formed in his throat. “Adam”.

\-- 

Lucifer could barely process that Adam was actually sitting there. Of course, he wasn’t really his dad. He never was, and likely would never be, but that wouldn’t stop him from bonding with the kid. “Could we maybe.. Talk in private?” he asked. And after the kid shot a glance at Crowley and Aziraphale, who nodded for him to follow, they walked out of the restaurant to find a quiet place to sit. 

Surprisingly Adam was the first to talk. “So I guess you're really my dad.” Lucifer looked somewhat uncomforable. “Well, I suppose I am. Not a very good one at that, though.” Adam chuckled. When Lucifer continued his voice had grown more serious “I’m really sorry Adam. For everything I’ve put you through” 

For the first time in a while Adam thought back at all the events that had played out during the failed apocalypse. Thinking back, he probably gained more from it than that it had cost him. Of course, it had taken a toll on him mentally, but he had Dog to cheer him up, as well as Crowley and Aziraphale who would visit every now and then. 

“It’s actually alright. Without you I wouldn’t have gotten Dog.” Lucifer smiled “Waste of a hellhound, that.” Adam shot him a confused glance. “No one ever explained how hellhounds work?” When Adam shook his head he went on “Well, it’s actually rather simple. The dog changes its appearance and behaviour to the name that it’s given.” Adam cut in “So when I named him dog he turned into.. A dog?” 

“Yup” Answered Lucifer. They both started laughing. When they finally managed to catch a breath Adam scoffed. “You know.. I never imagined that this would be possible. It isn’t as though I don’t have a family of course, but I always wondered what you were actually like, I didn’t want to believe that you were evil like everyone said you were. We didn’t really get to talk much during Armageddon either.” Lucifer smiled at him “I honestly didn’t think it was possible either. At first I couldn’t, because it might have triggered the end of the world, and after that I figured that you’d just rather have me stay as far away as possible.”

Adam nodded, he probably would have, if Crowley and Aziraphale hadn’t talked to him first. Right before they were about to go back inside Adam surprised Lucifer by pulling him into a hug. Which he somewhat awkwardly returned at first, patting his head, before loosening up and hugging him back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man. This chapter hates me. I couldn't figure out a decent-ish way to write this, so I suppose this will have to do. 
> 
> I'm going on vacation so updates will be even more inconsistent probably.


	5. 5

_Chloe and Lucifer had just returned from dinner, and Trixie was already fast asleep in bed._

_“You have a son?”Chloe asked, sitting down in a chair. It wasn’t as much of a question as it was a statement. Anger laced her tone ever so slightly._

_Lucifer nodded, realizing that- if he looked at the situation strategically- it would be best to shut up and accept his partner’s rant. He didn’t dare looking Chloe in the eye._

_She put a hand to her forehead. “And you figured that this wasn’t something you should have told me, why exactly?” Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and Lucifer wished he could slowly back out of the room. There was no proper answer to that question, and both of them knew it, He awkwardly responded,“I suppose… I hadn’t thought about it really. I didn’t know him too well.”_

_Chloe noticed how a slight bit of sadness seeped through, as Lucifer spoke. “Why not?_

_He shifted on the couch he was sitting on, as if the way he was sitting would make what he was about to say somehow feel easier. “Well... It’s rather complicated. Adam... Well-- I suppose…” He struggled, before straight up answering “He’s The Antichrist.” _

_The Detective’s eyes shot up, “Come again?”_

_He somehow looked even more uncomfortable. “The Antichrist, you know, supposed to bring along the prophesied end of the world, etcetera.._

_” “Should I worry?” she asked._

_He shrugged. “Actually, no. Thanks to Crowley and Aziraphale. They managed to stop the entire thing from happening.”_

_Chloe slowly started to understand several events that had happened the previous weeks. “So when you said you had to thank them for something...”_

_Lucifer nodded. “Wow..” She said, leaning back in her chair. _

**One month later**

It had been a month since they’d visited London, and as the summer slowly came to an end and Trixie went back to school, things started to go back to normal in LA.

Lucifer and Chloe had started to get used to dating, and they were more inseparable than ever. Not that their dynamic itself had changed, no, Lucifer’s endless stream of innuendos was strong as ever, as well as Chloe’s immediate responding eye rolls.

One night Lucifer found himself in Lux, casually sitting at the bar when two people in somewhat peculiar outfits enter the club. Lucifer recognized them from all the way across from the door, that’s how much they stood out. Crowley less than Aziraphale, but even then, he looked somewhat out of place.

It was a nice surprise seeing them here, they’d kept in contact since London. Adam and Trixie were becoming fast friends, spending many nights playing video games together. The demon and angel had given the tourists a tour of London whilst they were there, and ever since Lucifer had promised to return the favor in LA. Now that they were here he supposed he could show them the highlights.

Aziraphale was the first to spot him and walk up, closely followed by Crowley. It was pretty funny to see how completely in love the two were.

They exchanged greetings, before Lucifer went to fetch drinks for the two, but when he returned he saw Aziraphale, but there was no sign of Crowley. “Where’d your boyfriend go?” he asked. To which Aziraphale responded with a confused glance “I thought he came along with you?” Lucifer frowned “No, I thought he stayed here.” before shrugging it off and adding “He probably just went to the bathroom.”

Aziraphale couldn’t think of another explanation so agreed, but when he hadn’t returned after thirty minutes both started to worry. Lucifer might not have properly known Crowley for too long, but he already considered him a friend, so naturally he was somewhat bothered by the sudden disappearance.

Next to him the angel seemed like he was seconds away from a full-blown panic attack, so he tried to reassure him that after all, Crowley was still immortal, and that he shouldn’t worry too much. It didn’t really work.

He dropped Aziraphale off at his hotel before calling The Detective to tell her what happened, and tell her that he’d likely need a few days off to sort the situation out. He really was worried about Crowley. After all, it wasn’t too easy to kidnap someone in a busy nightclub, so he suspected that the supernatural was in some way involved.

As he was driving back to Lux he felt his phone vibrate. Aziraphale’s voice sounded through his car speakers. “Lucifer? Could you maybe come back? I’m rather sure I might have found something.”

He turned his car around as fast as he could, completely forgetting about speed limits and red lights.

The angel’s hotel room was small but tidy, nothing seemed out of place, nothing but a little pile of sulfur on the ground. A note was stuck in the yellow substance. On it there were only five words. ‘He won’t escape this one.

\---*---

Crowley felt his feet being dragged through something like gravel or sand. He must have been out for a while, because when he looked up through blurred vision he saw a black sky.

They’d arrived at lux relatively early for nightclub standards and it was still light outside when they walked in. His head was thrumming and the air smelled vaguely of something unpleasant.

After a few moments his vision returned, and he recognized the figure in front of him as Hastur, but that was the least of his problems, because when he looked around him he recognized the chaotic landscape of Hell.

He gasped, before mumbling ”Bollocks.”

Just seeing Hastur would be bad enough, but the fact that he dragged him down to hell; that was simply catastrophic.

He hoped that Lucifer would save him, but he knew he despised this place just as much as he did, and would do everything to stay as far away as possible. Still, it was his best bet.

He tried to pinpoint his location by looking around, not that it would help with the ever-so-similar hellish deserts of ash and brimstone. He was royally screwed, but he figured he had it coming.

He focused on the memories of Aziraphale's face, his rants over sushi and wine, and he felt quaint, peaceful even, closing his eyes with a satisfied smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, and thought it wasn't *too* shitty. In any case, thank you all for your lovely comments, they light up my day!


	6. 6

Aziraphale paced up and down the hotel room worriedly. His mind couldn’t-- or didn’t want to process what exactly was going on, and part of him still had a sliver of hope that Crowley would stumble through the hotel door right then and there. He didn’t, of course. 

Aside from the note and sulfur nothing seemed even the tiniest bit out of place. Bed neatly made, suitcases pushed underneath. Next to him he saw Lucifer squat down to inspect the pile of yellow rock on the ground. The smell of rotten eggs had found his nose, and he couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden smell. After a few moments Lucifer spoke, confirming what Aziraphale was already dreading, by saying “That’s from Hell.”

Although the angel had already been expecting exactly that, it still hit him like a truck. “So it’s a demon?” he asked, to which Lucifer replied “I assume so. Have you any idea who might do this to him?” 

Aziraphale couldn’t help but scoff. A better question would have been which demon  _ wouldn’t  _ do this. And among the probably five-million-or-so demons he honestly didn’t think that any would make that list. 

He did know, however, that there was one demon that particularly despised his partner. It had to be Hastur. The demon in question had disliked Crowley even before all of the Armageddon shenanigans. Hastur couldn’t for the life of him figure out why anyone would trade the hot, ashy hills of Hell for Earth. Swampy, cold, disgusting Earth.. To him, if you did, you were a traitor. And then everything with Ligur happened, and the previous dislike quickly bloomed into pure hatred. 

“Hastur has always hated him the most.” Said Aziraphale. 

Lucifer considered it for a moment, slowly nodding in agreement. “That’s right! He was always going on about how we let ‘the traitor’ off too easily. Luckily I never had to deal with it myself. But everyone was always so annoyed by it. I have to admit, it was quite funny.”

“It would explain the note.”

Lucifer pursed his lips “I suppose so, our issue now though, is where did he go? Someone probably would have noticed if they were still in LA, besides, he knows there’s only one place where you can’t come after him.” 

The pit in Aziraphale’s stomach significantly grew as he realized what Lucifer was implying. “You’re saying he took Crowley down to hell? We need to do something! They’ll kill him!”

Lucifer tried to calm him down “Hastur never _ was  _ the brightest of the bunch. For all I know he’s still somewhere in LA.”

Aziraphale gripped his hair in exasperation before adding “But what if he isn’t though? What if he’s already down there?”

Lucifer put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I give you my word that if he isn’t in LA I’ll fly right down there and assure that he’s safe..”

Although those words weren’t enough to have Aziraphale completely relax he found that they definitely helped. Quietly he contemplated how he ended up befriending the devil of all beings and that he turned out to be a better friend than most other humans or celestials. 

*-*

Crowley had fallen asleep halfway through the uncomfortable trip.

At times his head head hit a stray rock as he was being dragged, and that would briefly wake him up, but now he noticed that Hastur had came to a halt. They were in a small concrete cell. The windows were blocked off by iron bars, but the interior was empty, there was no bed or toilet. Hastur shot him an evil smile, before locking the gate and walking out. 

He looked out the window, and the view provided him with the information that they were in Pandaemonium, the largest city in the residential area of Hell. Said area was a large crater in the ground in which all the cities were located. The Capital-- Dis, was a little smaller but more lively, with a few restaurants and clubs, instead of Pandaemodium’s jungle of office buildings, such as the one he was currently locked inside of. 

The prison area he was loacated in seemed to have once served as an office, but had cleverly been remodelled to be as unpleasant as possible.

Part of him hoped he wouldn’t be here for too long, but he also realized that getting out likely meant that he would meet his doom. With a deep sigh he shifted and repositioned himself against the wall as comfortably as he could given his surroundings.

His mind brought him back to a sunny, warm afternoon in Aziraphale’s bookshop. He remembered seeing his angel lounge in one of the comfortable chairs, reading an old book. He remembered him studying him, enjoying seeing his angel’s mouth curl up at something amusing, or his soft ‘Oh no’ when something disturbing would come up. He loved it when he read to him. His voice would soothe him even in the most stressful situations. 

He remembered realizing just how damned much he loved him, as well as not being able to resist himself when he stepped forward and kissed him tenderly. 

He remembered Aziraphale’s soft brown eyes linking with his, and he remembered the wave of confusion that flashed through his angel’s eyes, before leaning in. How much he must have looked like a lost teenager, cheeks bright red as he awkwardly moved from one leg to the other. 

A soft smile crossed his features, he had nearly forgotten the horrible situation he was currently in, only to be dragged out of his moment of bliss by the sound of the lock clicking open. 

Three demons stepped inside, from left to right, Crowley recognized them as Beelzebub, Azazel and, of course, Hastur. The latter had a wicked grin on his disgusting face. “Oh we have so much fun planned for you.” He chuckled.

His words sent an involuntary shiver down Crowley’s spine. 

“Our master will be so proud when we report this.” Added Azazel, and for a single second Crowley doubted if maybe Lucifer wasn’t on his side after all, but he mentally punched himself. He would never do that; they were friends. Besides, if Lucifer would really have wanted Crowley in hell neither he or Aziraphale would have a chance to stop him. 

Internally he prayed that the devil in question would save him, regardless of how small the chances were. All he wanted was to hold his angel again. He closed his eyes for a second before the bat hit his head. He felt a short flash of sharp pain before the darkness surrounded him, forcing him into unconsciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm almost done writing this fic. It's going to be 9 or 10 chapters of actual story, and an attempt at an epilogue purely containing fluff. I'm also planning a sequel. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> (Also, I'm not sure when/where I'll have wifi this next week, so I'm not 100% sure if I can get the next chapter up in time)


	7. 7

When Crowley finally came by, he found his hands tied behind his back. They were in one of the torture rooms- the ones for insubordinate demons, instead of those for human souls. Around him, medieval-looking devices lined the walls. 

He heard someone sharpening a blade to his right and managed to push through the pain and lift up his head, only to see Hastur, sitting on a stool. He was inspecting his work, testing the sharpness of the sword on an unlucky demon that happened to pass by. 

Crowley flinched as the metal sliced through the demons arm like a hot knife through butter. 

A malicious grin spread over the duke of hell’s face when he noticed that Crowley was awake. “Y’know.” He said “Capturing you was boringly easy.” He shrugged “Luckily I’ll get to make up for that later, and I’ll be sure to enjoy it.” 

For the first time in ages Crowley felt fear rush through his veins, he didn’t sign up for this bullshit; all that he ever really wanted was to be curled up next to his angel. 

“Don’t worry though-” Hastur added “You won’t die, not yet at least.” before letting out a wicked chuckle. 

Somehow-- he knew it shouldn’t- it felt comforting to know that he wasn’t going to die yet. At least then he had somewhat of a shot of seeing his beautiful angel again.

Hastur waved his hand, and a few guards entered the room and pulled him up. A blindfold was pulled over his eyes, and without any warning he felt a sickening crack as both of his wrists were broken. 

He felt that he was being pulled away, as he softly whimpered. He had to admit that it was nice that the pain overtook the worry forming in his head rather fast. Eventually they dumped him on the floor. 

He instantly regretted it when he tried to catch himself, as he let out a high-pitched scream. He was still on the ground, blindfold still on his head. Based on the sound around him several other demons had also entered the room. For a second nothing seemed to happen. It was… calm. And then, then the boot hit his ribs. 

They seemed to be taking turns, turning it into a game, as Crowley screamed for them to stop. They went on until he was unable to move. Only then they pulled away the blindfold. 

Somehow he saw the familiar colors and shapes of the bookshop around him. Things weren’t quite right, but he couldn’t figure out just  _ what _ was the problem. Right in front of him, at the desk, sat his angel, smiling at the book he was reading. 

He was walking towards Aziraphale, he knew that. But he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t move. It was like he was stuck in his own body. He leaned forward to kiss his angel, only to see Aziraphale jerk away. “Crowley, we can’t do this.”

"Angel?” he asked, confused.

The Angel's hand pushed him away. His tone had grown darker. "I would never be able to love someone like you. You're fallen." He spat the words bitterly, before continuing "The opposite of my kind, now I would appreciate it if you left my shop.

Without looking back Crowley walked out the door. Shutting it gently behind him, as he allowed the tears to flow.

Years passed, and slowly the world around him changed. People got smarter and technology evolved swiftly as ever. Yet one thing remained consistent; the constant ache that Crowley felt whenever he saw anything reminding him of his angel. Whether it was a little restaurant selling crepes, or an old bookstore. Every time it hurt. Regardless of how much time passed, he felt equally lonely. 

He could find himself in a room crowded with people, and still feel painfully empty. 

Through thousands of years you were bound to cross paths with someone, and each time that they did, it felt like a piece of Crowley’s heart was being torn out. Until eventually he was all alone, with nothing but a gaping pit in his stomach. 

Right as he decided to go take a nice swim in a pool of holy water, the world around him changed, he was back in the dark room, on the floor, crippeling in pain. He curled up and screamed, as he let the tears stream freely down his face.

He felt like he had been sobbing for hours, and he knew it wasn’t going to stop any time soon. He craved his angel’s touch more than ever, and somehow, call it pure adrenaline, managed to pull himself up and relocate to the wall, where he slumped down. 

In a moment of pure, hopeless rage, he punched the wall. It hurt, but somehow it felt nice to feel the familiar pain. He couldn’t do anything when the bookshop reappeared around him, and the scenes flashed by his eyes again and again. 

\--

He knew there was a way out of this, he knew it would work, but it would also lead to his demise. He didn’t want to do it; every fiber of his body resisted even the briefest thought of it. But he knew that his current situation was something he couldn’t keep up, so he accepted his faith. 

In a moment of sheer helplessness he prayed to Aziraphale- something he hadn’t previously done, fearing that either of their respective head-offices would intercept it- knowing what was going to go down soon though, he felt the necessity to say good-bye. 

It was brief. Just “I love you. Farewell.” 

There was no time for anything more than that, and all he could hope, pray for even, was that it was that it had been received by the other party.

It hurt to think about his words. To imagine the distress that that simple message could cause; and for a moment he had genuinely considered not saying anything. But he knew he couldn’t do that to his angel. To the beautiful principality that he would curl up next to. That could somehow make the words ‘My dear boy’ not sound condescending. That- that... His mind crashed to a halt. This was it; the end. 

He bit his lip, fighting back the tears, as a single question haunted him; when would his angel forget about his existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry.
> 
> I hope this was alright.


	8. 8

They’d looked all over LA, but alas, there was no sign of Crowley. Not even as much as some CCTV footage, or a loose strand of hair.

Neither Lucifer or Aziraphale’s connections had heard or seen anything. 

Lucifer was slowly preparing himself, realizing he would most likely have to take a trip back to his old home. And as much as he dreaded that thought, he knew he owed it to both Crowley and Aziraphale. 

He knew that going down there would likely take a while, so he instructed Maze to take care of his business in his absence and  _ attempted  _ to assure Chloe that she needn’t worry; this failed utterly. 

He noticed just  _ how _ fragile Aziraphale was. He and Crowley hung onto each other like lifelines. 

One of the nice things about having a 6000 year old relationship- not that there was much precedent- was that the other was  _ always _ there for you. Regardless of the time, situation or location. If Aziraphale was a house, Crowley would be the foundation. The same went the other way around. Yet now it seemed that the house was about to crumble to the ground. 

It was clear as day that the angel was barely holding on.

-

Right as it seemed that things couldn’t get any worse a note appeared. Again, it read a short message. “He’s enjoying himself.” It read this time. They were toying with Aziraphale, and both of them knew it. There was a splash of blood on the letter, and neither needed to question who it belonged to.

And then a package arrived. Wrapped in brown paper.

Neither of them particularly wanted to open it, but Aziraphale somehow managed to pull himself together enough to carefully open it. In it was a hand-held tape recorder. Hell had always been behind on technology

Aziraphale bravely pressed play, but instantly regretted his choice, when Crowley’s screams echoed through the hotel room. He was begging. " _ Aziraphale- please."  _ Played over and over. His voice was unusually high. It was the last blow Aziraphale could take, as he silently sat down on Crowley’s bed, softly sobbing into his pillow. 

-

Lucifer hated this situation. There were rules in hell against these kinds of things. Sure he didn’t ever care  _ too  _ much about it. But this wasn’t supposed to happen.

He knew they were in hell. The soft whimpers of the tortured souls were barely audible. Barely being the key word. He noticed, and seemingly Aziraphale did too, as he looked up at Lucifer expectantly. He returned the answer in the form of a curt nod. Knowing what he had to do. 

And then he heard Crowley’s prayer. Softly. It wasn’t directed at him, but being an Archangel- fallen or not- next to the recipient, he tended to still hear the messages.

It was a farewell, he heard it in the tone. The finality of the words. Crowley’s acceptance of his faith. He knew he was going to die, and he was okay with it.

Next to him Aziraphale was having a full-fledged panic attack, and after calming him down a slight bit, he unfurled his wings and flew down.

*-*

It was one of hell's earliest protocols, one of the most important- yet rarely called upon- rules. A demon could, at all times, challenge another demon to a duel, and no one, not even Hastur, would be able to object to it.

Crowley knew he would lose, of course. He had never really been a fighter; he preferred the slither away and hide tactic. 

Maybe, he thought, he could bite Hastur and his poison would slow him down? But then he remembered that the only weapon allowed was a sword, and again he was reminded of how solemnly fucked he was.

He was about to get the guard to call Hastur for him, when he suddenly felt sick. It had hit him what the prospect of death meant, but at the same time, it really  _ hadn’t. _

How he would never again sit snuggled up on the sofa in Soho, or experience the exquisite taste of freshly made sushi. And how he would never see Aziraphale’s stupid, annoying smiley face again.

He bit his tongue, barely able to fight back the tears that had started to well up. He  _ loved  _ his life; but now.. Now it was time to accept that this was  _ it.  _

After a few minutes he managed to pull together. Attempting to reassure himself that everything would be  _ fine.  _ It wouldn’t. He knew, but he paid it no mind. 

The demon guarding his cell had chosen this time to fall asleep, but after a quite generous amount of yelling he reluctantly went to fetch his boss.

It didn’t take long for the duke of hell to appear at his cell, smiling evilly at the mess that Crowley was. “What do ya want." he asked wryly. 

Cowley took one big gulp of air before answering. 

“ _ Hastur,  _ Duke of hell, I hereby challenge you to single combat . ”

Both the Hastur and the guard stood frozen for a second, mouth slightly agape. 

See- there were several reasons why these duels barely ever occurred. The most prominent, being Lucifer. Generally demons didn’t mind being thrown into an arena and knocking each others brains out too much. Lucifer, however didn’t really approve. He always had thought it was unnecessary. He never  _ officially  _ banned them, but it was widely known that it wasn’t a particularly smart move if you wanted to remain somewhat respected in hell.

Lucifer was gone now though, so Hastur thought about it for a second, before answering “Why not.”

\--

Fights such as these took a while to prepare. They generally attracted a lot of attention, not to mention that this one would be one of the dukes of hell versus the legendary traitor Crowley. 

One of the larger arenas was prepared. It could to some degree be compared to those that would be found in ancient rome. Tickets were sold and bets were made regarding who would win and how long the fight would last. 

Barely any of the bets were in Crowley’s favor. 

Crowley was told to get ready, which, he had to admit, made the whole thing more sufferable because he got to eat basically anything he demanded. Initially that was usually nice, until he remembered that  _ his _ favourite dishes were also his angels’.

Any minute now, they would come get him, and well, that would be it. He stared out of the window, silently wondering what death would be like. He was a demon, he wasn’t supposed to have an afterlife, but he was  _ fallen.  _ Maybe it would make a difference? Maybe it wouldn’t, but pure nothingness was not something anyone could wrap their head around.

For the first time ever, he felt truly alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah.. so that was faster than usual.
> 
> I have most of the fic written down, so all I need to do now is type it out. I hope to post every two or three days for the last few chapters but I'm not too sure it'll work out.
> 
> On that note, I a previously said I thought it would be 9 or 10 chapters, this is wrong. It'll probably be 11 or 12.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed.


	9. 9

He ended up waiting for three more days before one of Hastur’s followers came to fetch him. Only when he was outside he noticed how excited everyone was for the event. On the route to the arena thousands of demons lined the streets, cheering as he walked past. Bitterly he realized that he felt somewhat bad for them, knowing that the fight wouldn’t be that interesting. At the same time though, he honestly couldn’t care less.

He was lead to the gate of the arena, and once again fought to get his breathing in order. It was an impressive building, looming over him, large and circular. He was pushed towards a flight of stairs, leading him towards the basement where the dressing rooms were located. 

They didn’t force him to wear armor, just his regular suit. A sword was pressed into his hand as he was once again pushed forward. This time towards the gate of the arena. 

Said gate was opposite of Hastur’s. Some hundred meters away. They would enter the field, building up anticipation until they came to a clash around the center of the field. 

Outside he heard the countdown.

“5” 

He gripped his sword lightly, sucking in a deep breath.

“4”

He took a small step towards the gate, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

“3”

It was almost time, he braced himself.

“2”

He shifted himself, repositioning himself into a more dynamic stance.

“1”

By now he had a white-knuckled grip around his sword. In front of him the gate shrieked slowly as it was being pulled up. 

The second it was pulled up sufficiently he sprinted towards the center, shouting with his sword raised high above his head. They wanted a show, he figured. He might as well give them what they came here for. 

He managed to block the first block surprisingly easy, as well as the second and after the third he even managed to slash back. It was blocked without any effort and returned with a slash that left a deep cut in Crowley’s left arm. The blood spilled out fast, and the hole burnt, but it didn’t slow him down. He managed to catch a couple of the attacks, but eventually the rapid flow of moves became too much for him. 

Crowley gripped his abdomen. He’d managed to fend of Hastur for a surprisingly long time, but he knew that eventually he wouldn’t be able to stop the constant blows. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and although he managed to nick his opponent a couple of times it wasn’t enough. He fought on and on.

Disregarding the blood flowing down his chest was rather easy. Just as easy as it was to forget the burning pain he felt every time the Duke of hell’s blade cut through his skin. None of it could come close to battling the pain he felt when he thought of his angel-- none of it mattered when he remembered that every time he envisioned Aziraphale’s face could potentially be the last. 

The mental pain hurt him so much more than the physical. Every blow, every punch, each one made him realize that it could be the last.

He battled on until he couldn’t physically stand up, and when he hit the ground he realized that this was _it_ that this was the conclusion to his eon-long story. That he would die, and that soon the world would forget about his existence. Except maybe Aziraphale.

And he felt… relieved.

He knew that there was no fleeing, no way out. Not a single escape route and that thought was oddly comforting. He knew there was no other way, so he could accept it.

In front of him Hastur raised his blade. The audience gasped and Crowley thought of Aziraphale once more. 

He braced for the final impact of the sword. But right as Hastur sliced downwards a wall of pearly white feathers appeared in front of him. 

He looked up to see Lucifer’s familiar form in front of him, and softly chuckled. Damn did that guy know how to make a dramatic entrance.

When Crowley peeked over the feathers he saw Hastur kneeling down opposite of him, looking utterly terrified, which, he had to admit, felt extremely satisfying. 

The second the spectators in the arena saw just who had stopped the fight they scattered. The arena breaking into chaos as everyone wildly sprinted towards the exits. 

It wasn’t long before it was basically just the three of them, give or take a few unlucky half-trampled demons. 

Lucifer looked positively pissed off “What the hell is this supposed to be?” he questioned, his tone was authoritative and rough.

Hastur didn’t look Lucifer in the eye once, but replied “That demon” pointing at Crowley accusedly “Challenged me to a fight. He’s the one to blame.” 

Lucifer spoke in a low growl “I thought Hastur, that I had made it abundantly clear that I _do not_ condone these fights.” 

The duke of Hell in question flinched at the mention of his name. He looked like he would do _anything_ to get out of this situation.

He motioned at one of the guards standing at the entrance and commanded him to take Hastur to a cell in his palace, before turning to his friend.

“Crowley.” He gasped when he saw the amount of blood flowing out of the several wounds covering his body. 

“Hi..” The demon started awkwardly. Attempting to stand up, and taking a step or two before sliding to the ground again. Luckily Lucifer managed to catch him right before he hit the floor. 

“Shh..” Lucifer soothed.

He took him to one of the bedrooms in his castle, and asked a couple of demons to attempt to stop the bleeding. Lucifer felt rage build up when he noticed the amount of damage Hastur had done, the blade had cut Crowley at least two-dozen times, some wounds deeper than others. He couldn’t help but admire his endurance, as he was sure many others wouldn’t have been able to keep it up for that long. 

Crowley was out for three whole days. Even a celestial body could only take so much damage before utterly collapsing. 

Lucifer sat at his bedside every day.

Crowley twisted and turned, face contouring into a pained expression when he rolled onto one of his wounds. Lucifer would gently push him until he was laying on his back again. 

When he woke up he fell numb, it took him a moment to recognize his surroundings- letting out a sound of distress when he saw the hellish surroundings, only to remember everything. The sound was enough to alert Lucifer though, who was sleeping in a chair a few meters away.

"Crowley darling. You're awake. How are you feeling."

His voice lacked the usual glee, and instead contained worry. 

"Shit" he grumbled. 

Lucifer chuckled, before rushing to support Crowley, who was trying to push himself up from his bed, and almost falling over in the process. 

Crowley looked somewhat unsure "How.. how long have I been down here?" He asked. 

In his hell-loop centuries had passed over and over again, and he had honestly lost all perspective of time as a whole.

"It's only been about a week on Earth."

Crowley released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He would be able to return to his life the way he left it. 

With that, he slumped back down onto the bed, and fell into a deep slumber once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm planning on wrapping up this fic around this time next week.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, if you did, please leave a comment, they're greatly appreciated.


	10. 10

That night Crowley managed to sleep, however each time he felt himself drift off he saw his hell loop in front of his eyes. It went on, playing over and over again, feeling infinite as ever. He screamed out in frustration. Yelling for it to stop, as he buried his face in a pillow. Tears once again made their way down his face.

A worried-looking Lucifer stormed into the room, clearly having heard Crowley’s yelling. He only seemed to relax a little when he saw Crowley, before noticing his tears. 

“I heard you scream, are you all right?” he asked.

Crowley reluctantly shook his head before explaining the ways the demons tortured him

Lucifer felt his anger build up while Crowley spoke, the things the demons did, that Crowley went through, he didn’t deserve it. Nothing he could have done would have precedented this treatment.

As Crowley finished his story Lucifer felt about ready to kill Hastur. 

And then Crowley spoke. “I want to see them suffer.”

Lucifer looked up in surprise. Crowley had never been keen on hurting someone else, he was by far the most peaceful demon to ever exist, and generally he would hate seeing anyone in pain, but then again, after what the demons did, he understood where he was coming from. 

So he nodded in response.

\--

It took Crowley two full weeks to recover. Even then, his body ached with every step he took. He decided that it was time to finally get out of the room that he had spent all his time in. 

  
He got out of bed and went to look for Lucifer. He’d never actually been inside the castle, and it was somewhat confusing, with dozens of hallways and doors that seemingly lead nowhere.

Damn his luck, because the first door he opened just happened to contain Beelzebub, sitting at a desk.

He realized that he might have failed to mention the prince of hell’s involvement with his torture. “Fuck,” he thought to himself. 

He staggered back, rushing to the door when he felt his upper arm being caught. 

“Zzztop” she commanded, and Crowley froze

“What are you doing here.” she questioned, but before he could even reply she added “Ah, doezzn’t really matter does it. Only more fun for me.”

He tried to wrestle out of her grip but found that it stuck like iron. 

Only then he heard Lucifer outside of the door, seemingly talking to someone, so he shouted as hard as he could. It came out high-pitched, utterly panicked.

Beelzebub was halfway through asking what the hell he thought he was doing when Lucifer stormed into the room. “Let him go.” he hissed when he saw the she-demon holding his friend.

Crowley hated that he once again felt the tears well up in his eyes; he hated the panic that the situation immediately insinuated in his brain. But after all the pain- all the trauma of the past months he allowed the tears to fall freely. 

Embarrassed as he was, he turned to Lucifer, who surprisingly embraced him. Softly soothing him by whispering “Don’t worry dear, I’ve got you. You’re safe.” Crowley sobbed into Lucifer’s shoulder for a few more seconds, before calming himself down. 

Eventually, he managed to speak again. “It’s.. it’s just..” He struggled to find the right words. “Every time I see them. Every time I notice all but a brief reminder... I can’t help but think ‘What if this is it? What if this is the last time I can think of my angel?’ And then the other thoughts follow. ‘Will he remember me? For how long? Will I remember, or is everything just lost. It can’t be, right? Will I ever see him again?’ I don’t know how to deal with it.”

Lucifers hug tightened lightly. “You don’t have to worry anymore. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

And if anyone would have told Crowley five years prior, that he would be in hell, hugging Lucifer himself, he would surely have laughed. But now he just nodded.

The next day Crowley found himself walking into Hastur’s cell. He needed closure, he figured, and seeing Hastur in a bloody cell would probably do.

He tried, and succeeded, at staying unseen for a good while, until Lucifer utterly ruined his plan by barging into the cell and sighed “Bloody hell Crowley, what are you doing.”

Hastur’s head snapped up at the mention of his enemy. When he recognized Lucifer he managed to sound somewhat convincing when he said “Pardon me lord, but you should not let yourself be fooled by that serpent.” He spat out the last word like it left a horrible taste in his mouth. 

“Silence,” Lucifer demanded, voice cold and authoritative. Once again Crowley was reminded how lucky he was befriending his boss. After all, there were a lot of terrifying things in hell, but none could beat the devil.

“Crowley, what are you doing.”

The demon, in response, sighed. “I was trying to  _ not  _ get noticed.” 

‘Yes, I understood that part. But why.“

“Hold up. If you  _ noticed  _ then why did you come in here yelling.”

“T’was fun.” he shrugged.

“Arse.” he hissed, but there was no real malice behind it.

-

It took a while for everything to get sorted. After all, it wasn’t common for two high-ranking demons to get ‘removed’. Everything finally seemed to be wrapping up though, and they were planning on leaving the next day. Lucifer just insisted there was one last thing he needed to take care of.

Later that day he heard a knock on his door, apparently, he was being asked to attend some meeting. He tried to figure out what this was supposed to be, but decided that he'd just see.

So he walked into the conference room, which, for the record was nothing like the ones you would find on earth. It was a large hall with a high ceiling and a table in the center of the room. It was only used for the most important political events, which only made Crowley ask himself why exactly he was there again.

A demon lead him to a chair, around him he saw the archdukes and princes of hell, looking at him with an equally confused glance. Whispers went around the room; he might not have  _ met _ most of these people, but nearly everyone in hell knew who he was, or more particularly what he  _ did.  _

When Lucifer entered the room the voices finally died down, as everyone stood up as one, everyone, but Crowley of course. He had never really been interested in protocol, neither had he ever felt the need to learn it. 

Crowley must have looked miserable because Lucifer evidently barely held in his laughter when he looked at him. 

He didn't let him suffer for  _ too  _ long though, because he signalled for everyone to sit down and started. "You lot may wonder why we're gathered here today." 

A couple of demons nodded, others opted for a more nuanced 'hm'.

"Well, it's rather simple. I assume by now you've noticed that Beelzebub and Hastur are missing from this meeting. They disobeyed my commands, and will therefore not be returning."

He paused. Building up for the second part of his speech. He'd always been a great public speaker, Crowley realized.

"So given that we're now missing a prince of hell, I thought, who better than Crowley here."

A few people in the room gasped, including Crowley. This had never happened before, it wasn't supposed to. 

And yet here he was, suddenly the centre of attention. 

"Crowley, do you have anything to say?" Asked Lucifer.

Crowley stood up, considering laying out a tactical speech before clearing his throat and speaking his mind. 

"Well. Really all I want to say is that I never wanted to be here; the place is a bloody disaster and you are all arseholes." Before sitting down again. 

He heard Lucifer chuckle and grinned. 

Soon he would be able to go home, and honestly, nothing else mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the last plot-wise.


	11. 11

It was finally time to go home, return to the life that Crowley had so desperately craved for so long. 

He could finally see his angel again. He missed it, so, so much. 

And so he pushed through the barrier of hell, leaving it all behind.

Once on earth, he knew where to go. 

The bookshop terrified him- rather logically so. 

Every book, every shelf, every inch of the bloody room was a bitter reminder of the torture he had endured. 

He missed it, of course. But at the same time, it was unnerving to a whole new extent. The light that shone through the windows was different. Or so he reminded himself. Anything to comfort himself, or at least convince himself that this wasn't hell.

It didn't work. 

Each time, he hoped it wouldn't be the same as the last. Each time he knew it was, and each time hurt more than the previous one.

But now he saw Aziraphale sitting there, calm. Reading his book. Unaware of the fact that someone was lurking at him. 

he bit his lip, he wanted to run to him- tell him he loved him, but he knew, he knew that if Aziraphale rejected him he wouldn't be able to take it.

He pushed himself forward, but before he reached his angel he tripped over a stray book, alarming the figure at the desk. 

Aziraphale promptly spun around in his chair. 

A smile crossed his face when he saw Aziraphale. He knew, right then and there that this was different, that the angel in front of him was the real one; and silently he wondered how he ever could have mistaken anyone- anything, for his beautiful principality.

The strand of hair that lay flat on his forehead as a result running his fingers through it one too many times, his eyes seemed tired, his usually immaculate coat was laying on the ground, disregarded. 

The way his eyes instantly softened when they landed on him was all he needed to realize that the hell he went through was finally behind him. It was perfect, but more importantly; it was real. It was real, and nothing would take it away.

He smiled at the look Aziraphale shot him- equally confused, happy, concerned and yet unreadable. "My dear boy." He stuttered, as he got out of his chair and pushed past the piles of books, laying a hand on Crowley's face, as if to reassure himself that this was indeed really him.

"Angel... I've missed you."

Aziraphale smiled softly "Me too." He said, pulling Crowley into a hug. 

\--

Hours later the two could still be found in the bookshop, holding each other as if their life depended on it. Talking about all the little things that had happened while they were away.

Of course, Crowley did most of the talking and Aziraphale occasionally gave his opinion or nodded along. 

Crowley soaked in every little detail, cherished every second he could spend in Aziraphale's company. He laughed and cried until both of them fell asleep, Crowley's head comfortably leaning on his angel's shoulder.

He woke up a couple of times, heavily panting from the nightmares that still him, but a single glance at Aziraphale would instantly relax him. It was like he was the antidote to all his issues, and he once again questioned what he would do without him, but all he found was that he didn't even want to consider the idea. 

The world- for the first time- was perfect. Every part of it. Reality was bliss, a peaceful, calming, relaxing place. And he never wanted it to chance.

\--

"Trix, it's time to go to school," Chloe called up the stairs in an attempt to get her daughter ready.

Lucifer leaving was tough on her, their relationship was perfect, and even after dating for such a short time it felt like it had always been that way. 

She knew she shouldn't worry; he was the literal devil, how much could go wrong. But then her brain felt the need to remind her that quite a lot  _ could _ go wrong. 

What if something happened in hell, what if he had somehow been captured and he couldn't return. Did hell have cellular reception? Maybe she should just give him a call… or maybe an email? 

Okay maybe not.

She got so caught up in her train of thought that she hadn't noticed her daughter walk up, bag packed and everything. 

"Mommy?"

Her voice brought her brain to an abrupt halt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry monkey."

"Are you thinking about Lucifer again?"

She nodded.

"Well. You shouldn't worry. Lucifer is the devil, and he is waaaay cooler than any bad guy."

She smiled in response to her daughter's words. 

"Yeah. You're right."

Right as they were about to walk to the door they heard a knock.

Chloe was about to embark on one of her "Sorry, I'm not interested in... “ speeches, after all, who else would be at her door at this hour. But when she opened the door and saw Lucifer she felt her jaw drop.

His hair was dishevelled, suit torn and stained. His homeless magician level had shot up to an incredible 120%. 

“Hello, Detective.” He said, somewhat uncertain. “Sorry that I’m a mess, I just returned to earth and I couldn’t wait really.”

Chloe pulled him into a hug. Smiling into his shoulder. “I missed you.”

But before he could even start to form an answer a shriek filled the room. “LUCIFER!” shouted Trixie. “You’re back!” before running towards him and joining in on the hug. 

Where Lucifer would have retreated before- running from Trixie as though she could contaminate him with some sort of disease, he now kneeled and hugged her back. Patting her hair, somewhat awkwardly. 

After they exchanged their greetings, expressing how nice it was to finally be reunited, it was time for Trixie to go to school. She said goodbye and got on the bus.

“Detective?” asked Lucifer. 

“Hmm?”

“Have.. Have you slept?” he asked, uncertain.

“A few hours.” She half-lied. She had indeed slept for a few hours if said hours were spread out over the week.

Lucifer had seemed to catch on, pushing her towards the bedroom. It didn’t take long for them to lay there, snuggled up, Chloe fast asleep arms wrapped around Lucifer’s torso. 

And with a satisfied smile plastered on his face, Lucifer too fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the last bit of plot.


	12. Epilogue

The red microphone symbol flashed across the screen as Trixie pressed the designated push-to-talk button. “Adam! What are you doing? You said you would have my back. I’m down.”

“Trix, he was literally in front of you.” He answered with a sigh.

“Stop talking, just revive me!” 

Adam mumbled something to himself but saved Trixie anyway. The little girl had become something like a sister to him somehow. Regardless of how far away they lived.

“Playing Zombies with you is actually horrible. Have I told you that?” he grumbled.  
“Yeah, you have. But you love it too right?”

She sounded way too innocent for him to answer anything other than “Yes, yes I do.” His tinny laugh came through the headphone speakers when she accidentally shot him. 

“I can’t wait for you to come to LA. I’ll show you around, we have some cool parks and a really big zoo. And we can finally play games IRL.” 

“Yeah me too.”

“Shit, look behind you!” Trixie shouted, causing Adam to jump a little. Before almost instantly hearing Chloe’s voice behind her. “Beatrice Espinoza, language.”

Adam chuckled softly- it was really quite odd how close he and Trixie had gotten over the course of the past few months. She’d told him all about Lucifer, and how she thought he was the coolest person ever, and in return Adam told her all about Crowley and Aziraphale. 

They’d spent countless hours video calling when they should have been asleep, exchanging stories.

“Mom asks what time you’ll be landing, so we can pick you up.” 

“I think 4:10 PM. Crowley and Aziraphale will be coming too. I convinced them to go on the airplane with me instead of flying themselves.” 

“Cool! I can’t wait.”

-*-

Adam was enjoying his flight a little too much. 

The plane was passing through a cloud, causing some minor turbulence. Adam, having flown before, didn’t think too much of it. But next to him Aziraphale let out a high pitched noise of distress. 

He shouldn’t laugh, he told himself- but when Crowley woke up and all but screamed he couldn’t help but chuckle. The two father-like figures that had always acted so tough were so completely out of their element. In all honesty, it was hilarious. 

Things only got better as they approached the landing, as the plane tilted downwards he saw Crowley’s white-knuckled grip on the armrest. Aziraphale was reading a book- probably only to distract him from the current situation. 

They landed fairly easy, and after the plane’s short taxi to the terminal they got off. The angel and demon seemed all too happy to once again feel solid ground under their feet. 

They were greeted by Chloe, Lucifer and Trixie, who were standing at the barrier. 

When the little girl saw Adam she sprinted towards him and hugged him tightly. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah. It’s awesome.”

They left the airport, kids still happily chatting about everything, and during the car ride back to Chloe’s house Trixie pointed out all her favourite spots in the city. She even got her mother to stop to get her favourite chocolate cake.

Lucifer offered to cook dinner, and everyone happily accepted. Neither Crowley or Aziraphale had ever tried his food, but Chloe told them it was absolutely divine- no pun intended. 

He cooked a shrimp risotto, and after only a few minutes the entire kitchen smelled amazing. Several pans and pots were simmering on the stove as the rest of the group was catching up in the living room. 

Trixie and Adam were sat at the TV, shouting as they attempted to shoot each other in Call of Duty. 

It would have been endearing, had the words coming out of their mouths not have been things such as “I swear. I’m gonna get a headshot on you this time.” or “Haha, you can run now, but I’ll find you, and you know what will happen when I do.”

Nevertheless, they enjoyed the evening. Talking about everything that had happened, and smiling at the reminder of how both of their families had successfully been restored.

It was probably the oddest room. The devil, an angel, a demon, the antichrist and a police detective and her daughter, all sharing dinner. But none of it seemed to matter.

Life was great, and that was all that counted,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for your kudos and lovely comments, they ment a lot to me. This is the first multi-chapter fic that I have ever finished and I really enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> I can't wait to start on the sequel and see where that journey takes me, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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